About

Cost

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$
$
$

Difficulty

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Time

15 mins

Serves

4

BrothA vegetable hotpot makes a healthy and quick and easy meal – perfect for when you get home from work and don’t want to spend a long time in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove. All you need to make this are some really fresh vegetables (preferably organic), some great homemade broth, a bottle of soy sauce and a pack of rice noodles. As this hotpot proves, sometimes the simplest food tastes the best.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the pak choi (bok choy). Cook for 2–3 minutes until just tender but still retaining some bite. Drain, plunge into a bowl of cold water and then drain again.

Step 2

Put the rice noodles in a bowl and pour over some boiling water. Set aside for at least 10 minutes or follow the instructions on the packet.

Step 3

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan and cook the aubergine (eggplant) over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, turning it occasionally, until just tender and golden brown. Add the ginger, chilli and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes without colouring.

Step 4

Pour in the hot broth, soy sauce and sugar and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the mange tout (snow peas) or sugar snap peas and cook gently for 3–4 minutes until just tender. Stir in the rice noodles, spinach and pak choi and cook for 2 minutes until the spinach wilts.

Step 5

Stir in the coriander (cilantro) and ladle the hotpot into 4 shallow bowls.